Venezuela to Curtail Dollars

By

Kejal Vyas

May 22, 2013 8:58 p.m. ET

CARACAS—Venezuela's economy, which is grappling with rapid currency depreciation and shortages of basic consumer goods due to a lack of dollars distributed by the government, won't be granted access to the same number of U.S. dollars this year as it was the previous year, the head of the central bank said Wednesday.

"We can't go crazy and do what was being done last year when around $59 billion were distributed," bank President Edmee Betancourt told reporters in comments broadcast on local television station...